Corn Sugar?

Oh the notorious High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). If you watch TV you've likely seen the ad campaigns for HFCS. Pretty smart ads. Kind of creepy too for some reason, at least I think so. Why is HFCS bad again? Because truly sugar is sugar and everything in moderation, right? Yes, true. But not all sugars are equal. And in the case of HFCS, it is a highly processed sweetener made from corn. And just because it's made from corn does not make it "natural" as the Corn Refiners Association would like to make it appear.

To be fair, white sugar is also highly processed. HFCS comes from corn that's been milled, made into a syrup then adjusted with added enzymes. Sugar comes from either sugar cane or sugar beets. The plants are crushed to exude their sweet juices, and the juice is allowed to crystallize into a loose crumble. This crumble can be sold as-is, but it is usually washed, allowed to crystallize, and then sold or refined as needed. In the case of white sugar, multiple washings are used, with some sugar refineries even bleaching the sugar to get it as white as possible.

I've done a couple of posts on sugar and HFCS respectively. But I'm revisiting the subject because of a recent petition from the Corn Refiners Association to change the name of High Fructose Corn Syrup to Corn Sugar. Information and campaigns against HFCS over the years has actually worked and now the association needs to do something to gain the sweetener some acceptance again.

Medium food is definitely synonymous with the "everything in moderation" motto. But it's also an approach to food that requires research and always opting for the best food (within budget) based on that research. I always look for minimally processed items and more importantly, focus on the nutritional impact of the food. Bread, crackers or soup with added sugar in it, HFCS or white sugar, is unnecessary to me. We're getting enough sugar in items that are intentionally sweet, I don't need to serve up more on my son's turkey sandwich.

I skip HFCS all together. I guess you can say the information against it over the years has worked and I just don't want it. The petition to change the name simply reinforces the need to be an educated consumer. Understanding the ingredients lists will arm you with the ability to see through innocent and natural sounding ingredients such as the proposed "corn sugar." If it walks like a... and quacks like a... it's a... - you get it. Let's just stay smart. And let's keep finding the time and energy (that some days we just don't have) to THINK before we buy.

Whole cane sugar

After making a chocolate zucchini bread this morning (recipe to follow), I was inspired to research how I could make it just a little better (e.g. swap whole wheat flour for the white flour, swap something else for the white sugar, etc.) While researching, I found organic whole cane sugar. I actually found it by seeing it in a recipe which led me to a blog post on Simple Organic. This post is very informative, also providing how to substitute brown sugar and powdered sugar.

Sweeteners can get confusing. I actually use an organic "evaporated cane juice" sugar but it's still basically processed white sugar. I assumed it was a slightly better choice than let's say C&H brand sugar? But now that I've found organic whole cane sugar, I'm switching. This sugar is simply dehydrated organically-grown sugar cane. Its crystals remain rich in minerals, trace elements and vitamins. White sugar is highly processed including being cleaned with phosphoric acid, calcium hydroxide and then filtered through bone char.

It's easy to be fooled by sweeteners. After reading the post on organic whole cane sugar, I learned that "raw" sugar isn't any better than white sugar either. So grabbing that packet of "sugar in the raw" over the white packet for my hubby's coffee all these years was of no benefit. Oh well. That leads me to the world of misleading packaging and advertising but that's another post.

In terms of price, this is yet again another item that's going to cost us more. But being that we don't use lots of sugar, it won't be hard to incorporate into our budget. I've been paying $2.99 for a 24 oz. package of organic sugar. The best price I found (online) for organic whole cane sugar is roughly $4.35 per 24 oz. package by purchasing it in a bulk pack of six. A six pack would likely last six months or more depending on the time of year and how much I'm baking. You could also split it with a friend, three packs each which would lower the initial spend.

I personally think this is worth the extra couple of dollars. To know me is to know that I am picky about what we spend extra money on so when I think it's worth it, you may too. I bake breads (banana, zucchini, etc.) regularly to replace packaged snacks so improving my recipes with ingredients such as organic whole cane sugar, 100% whole wheat flour and flax seeds is important. I'm serving these to my family on a regular basis, it needs to be full of good stuff.

Oatmeal

My son loves oatmeal, we all love oatmeal actually. I know instant oatmeal has a bad rap but I still have some in the cabinet. Along side the longer cooking oats actually. I never thought about differences like instant oatmeal being pre-cooked versus old-fashioned oats not being cooked (although that isn't exactly true) but rather the higher sugar and sodium content and other miscellaneous additives the little packets contained.

The reality is, instant oatmeal is an okay choice. It's a good "medium food" to have around. But there is one caveat: Read the ingredients. This is my rule with any packaged food. The best choice for instant oatmeal is plain or regular. It is nutritionally similar to old-fashioned oats. Although, I do buy Cinnamon Spice for my son and while I typically eat the longer cooking oats, I add a tablespoon of brown sugar, a tablespoon of walnuts or pecans and blueberries or bananas. So with this in mind, how do the stats compare? Well in regards to sugar, the flavored instant has 13 grams per serving and the bowl I make has 12 grams. But unless I'm pressed for time, I'd still opt for stove top oatmeal.

Controlling what's in our food whenever possible is always my goal even in my medium food life. Instant oatmeal is fine but oatmeal is one of those foods that is fairly easy to make yourself. As always, I do my best. Some mornings I can be seen serving up a bowl of instant to the family but more often the little packets stay in the cabinet.

Country Choice Organic Old Fashioned Oats ingredients: Organic whole grain rolled oats.

Trader Joe's Organic Cinnamon Spice Instant Oatmeal: Organic rolled oats, organic dehydrated cane juice solids, organic cinnamon, organic spices, sea salt.